Reform Rabbis Demand Government Salaries

Israel’s Conservative and Reform movements petitioned the High Court to demand state salaries for non-Orthodox rabbis in Israeli towns and cities equal to the salaries received by their Orthodox counterparts, Haaretz reported.

A benchmark 2014 High Court ruling ordered the government to pay salaries to non-Orthodox rabbis. But it only applied to those serving in outlying regional councils.

According to the Reform “Israel Religious Action Center,” non-Orthodox movements have 94 congregations in 49 major Israeli towns and cities (37 Reform and 57 Conservative) and 55 non-Orthodox rabbis (33 Reform, 22 Conservative) are employed as rabbis in cities, towns and regional councils.